


Christmas in July

by WynterSky



Series: Cruel World [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-14
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2018-03-17 19:10:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3540761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WynterSky/pseuds/WynterSky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mikoto is expecting again, and Fugaku dreads the result.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas in July

It was a little more than four years after what Fugaku remembered as unquestionably the hardest decision of his life when he came home from police headquarters to find Mikoto waiting for him on the porch. She didn’t do this often, so Fugaku was sure that she must have something to tell him, especially from the smile she was clearly trying with little success to smother.

 

“What is it?” he asked, quickly mounting the stairs and taking her small hands to pull her close.

 

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” she said, and had to stand on tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “We’re going to have another one.”

 

It took Fugaku a few seconds to figure out what she was talking about. Once he did, he couldn’t decide whether to feel happiness at another chance or fear that maybe what happened back then wasn’t a fluke—he wouldn’t be able to stand making that decision again.

 

Mikoto was looking at him oddly by this point, so he smiled and kissed her quickly. “That’s wonderful, darling,” he said, trying to ignore the cold knot of worry in his chest.

 

Mikoto beamed. “Isn’t it? I can’t wait to find out whether it’s a girl or a boy. And I’ll have to call Atsuko-nee-chan and have her help me prepare the nursery—” her voice shook a little on the word ‘nursery’ but she went on as if nothing was out of the ordinary. “Shisui-kun will be so excited to have a little cousin!”

…...

 

Over the next couple of months, Mikoto only became more excited. Fugaku knew that she had to be at least a little worried, though, because he had seen her having long, serious conversations with some of her sisters. These often ended in tears, and Fugaku pretended he didn’t notice how red her eyes were when she came back to the house.

 

He accompanied her the day she went to the hospital to find out the gender of the new baby, but was forced to cool his heels in the waiting room while trying not to panic. When a few other couples passed with their infants, he tried to hide how jealous he was, at least until they were out of sight.

 

It seemed to be weeks before Mikoto returned, and Fugaku knew from her radiant smile that she had good news. Of course, everything had seemed ordinary _before_ , but that didn’t mean anything, did it?

 

“Well,” she said cheerfully, coming over to him while buttoning up her coat, “Don’t you want to know?”

 

Fugaku had a vague notion that he might actually want to be surprised, but Mikoto would probably burst if she couldn’t tell, not to mention the fact that it would be near-impossible for her to actually keep it a secret. “...you want to tell me,” he replied, pulling her down next to him and putting an arm around her waist (the receptionist wasn’t looking in their direction).

 

“It’s a boy,” Mikoto announced. “Another boy...” she sighed, her expression turning wistful.

 

Fugaku ran a hand through her hair gently; he could think of nothing to say that would ease the loss. “Let’s get home,” he suggested after a minute, and Mikoto agreed with a smile that was only a little bit shaky.

…...

 

The months began to blur together a bit after that, with doctor visits and home renovations added to his already busy schedule at police headquarters. While he was unofficially off duty now, he had to be around to keep everyone else in line and make sure things ran smoothly.

 

Therefore, he was a bit confused when he returned to the house and found that Mikoto wasn’t there. He had actually gotten back early for once, and he was trying to remember whether she was going to get together with one of her girlfriends or go to the hospital for another checkup or something else that he’d forgotten when Shisui scampered up the walk and onto the porch after him.

 

“Fugaku-ji-san!” he shouted, almost undecipherable with how fast he was talking. “Kaa-san sent me to find you and she said to tell you to go to the hospital and Mikoto-ba-san’s having the _baby_!”

 

As he was thinking a bit slowly in the sweltering summer heat, Fugaku took a few seconds to sort through everything the boy had said. He sprinted for the gate as soon as he registered the last phrase.

…...

 

Fugaku was forced to wait for four frantic hours before being permitted to see his wife and second child, and spent every moment panicking over what he would do if it hadn’t been a fluke the first time. He couldn’t possibly get rid of another child, he _couldn’t_ , and even if he was willing to do that, it would be nearly impossible to cover up this time. He knew he didn’t deserve anything after what he had done, but Mikoto shouldn’t have to be put through this again.

 

Because of what had supposedly happened the first time, Mikoto had decided to go to the better equipped Konoha hospital instead of the Uchiha clan clinic. This meant that a live birth would immediately go into the city records, rather than the more easily accessible and falsified clan records.

 

Finally, after Fugaku had been waiting so long that he was almost certain something must have gone wrong, a nurse opened the door and beckoned him in. She didn’t look as if she was under a genjutsu, so Fugaku almost began to dare to hope.

 

“Is everything all right?” he whispered.

 

“Oh, yes,” Mikoto said breathlessly from inside the room. “Everything’s wonderful, darling, come and see!”

 

Much encouraged, but still aware that they weren’t out of danger yet, Fugaku brushed past the nurse and hurried to his wife’s side, unable to take his eyes off the tiny little bundle that she held.

 

“I think he might be asleep,” Mikoto whispered as Fugaku sat down in the chair next to the bed. “Here, do you want to hold him?”

 

Fugaku started to say that he very much did not—it brought back horrible memories of the last circumstances in which he had held a baby—but didn’t have enough time before he found himself with his second child in his arms.

 

“Isn’t he beautiful?” Mikoto asked.

 

The baby wasn’t exactly beautiful (no newborn child was) but Fugaku quite agreed with the sentiment. “What are we going to call him?” he asked. He had been so worried over other things that he had never gotten around to discussing that with his wife.

 

“I was thinking that we could name him Sasuke,” Mikoto said. “What do you think of that?”

 

Fugaku gently brushed his thumb across his son’s tiny, soft cheek, then stiffened in apprehension before relaxing with a smile of joyful relief as the baby yawned and opened a pair of beautiful deep dark eyes. “That’s perfect,” Fugaku said, handing the baby back to Mikoto and putting his arm around her shoulders. “Welcome to the family, Sasuke.”

 

 


End file.
